Splendid Summer Days
by kumikokat
Summary: 1995. Fifteen-year-old Sheldon Cooper meets Olive Morrison, sparking a summer romance that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
1. The Genius Boy

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang theory, or any of the characters, except Olive. And Stan.**

A/N: I thought it would be interesting to explore Sheldon's teenage years a little, and I got wondering if there was a specific reason, some kind of event in his life, which meant that he wouldn't really be in any kind of relationship on the show. This was what I came up with. Oh, and I'll be continuing my other story, Sheldon's Deal, also.

Chapter One: The Genius Boy

It is a warm evening. The sun still shines, in spite of the moon which has settled into its place in the sky ready for the coming night. Olive lies in the long tufts of grass, reading John Wyndham's _Day of the Triffids_ and thinking about nothing in particular.

It is the first day of summer, but for most of the little kids the end-of-school high has worn off already, so Olive is pretty much alone in the park, except for a small group of guys playing soccer and a tall boy with long limbs, who is sitting on the roundabout reading some kind of textbook.

She's wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of shorts, and she did have converse but now they are lying beside her in the grass. She stretches out her long pale toes. Wonders how long it's been since she was this relaxed. Her chestnut brown hair is tied in two plaits, and a white hair band is keeping her long fringe out of her eyes.

She finishes her book, and closes it contentedly. It was a good read, a little freaky in places but Olive likes that in a book. She looks around, not quite ready to go back to the trailer park she is required to call home, but not willing to simply sit here by herself either. Decision made, she stands up and wanders towards the tall boy.

"Hi," she says, smiling, looking as friendly as she can.

"Hello." He glances at her, doesn't really sound as if he wants to talk. But Olive has never really been one for subtlety.

"I'm Olive Morrison," she tells him, sitting down on the roundabout on his left, "my friends call me Liv."

"Sheldon Cooper," the boy says, almost grudgingly, "but I'm afraid I'm very busy."

"Why? What are you doing?" She glances over his shoulder. "Physics? That looks a ton more complicated than anything we've done at school."

"Of _course_ you haven't. You're in high school, I'm doing graduate studies." His tone is slightly condescending. This annoys Olive somewhat, but she continues blithely on.

"Oh, so what age are you? You must be older than you look."

"I'm fifteen," he informs her, a tad proudly. Noticing her surprised expression, he adds smugly, "I'm told I have an IQ of 187, but I maintain that it cannot be accurately measured by any IQ test."

"That's really impressive," Olive says sincerely, leaning back on the roundabout, "I haven't seen you around here before."

"I don't like parks," Sheldon's eyes cloud with anger, "my dad made me get out of the house for some _fresh air_."

"I don't mean _here_ here," Olive elaborates, "I mean, I haven't seen you around town."

"I've lived here for as long as I can remember," Sheldon looks thoughtful, "although I have been in Germany recently. Visiting professor."

Olive is pretty sure she's never met a genius before. And if this guy isn't one, he's sure close. He's straight back into his physics book the minute she falls silent, a look of careful concentration gracing his features. Watching him, Olive decides that he is kind of cute. She checks her watch. It's about seven pm. She notices that he is wearing a Flash t-shirt.

"Hey, Sheldon, do you want to come to the comic book store with me? I heard the new Flash is out."

Sheldon looks up at her,_ really_ looks at her, and wonders if this is normal behavior. Strangers introducing themselves, striking up casual conversations, going places together? He dismisses the thought – he never has been good at figuring people out – and considers her proposition. On one hand, she could be a serial killer. He doubted it, but it _was_ a possibility. On the other hand, he desperately wanted the new Flash. And she has a book, which suggests at least _mild_ intelligence.

"Alright," he says finally, closing his book and tucking it under his arm.

"Well great!" Olive says cheerfully, standing up and starting to walk away, clutching her own book to her chest.

"Um, Olive? I believe you need your shoes." He gestures to her converse, which are lying abandoned in the grass. She blushes.

"Of course." She drops to the ground and laces them up.

* * *

The comic book store is nearly empty when Sheldon and Olive cross the threshold. Sheldon smells in the familiar, delicious scent. He hasn't been here since he got back from Germany. Her fingers brush the rows of comic books and he smiles, as though greeting old friends.

"Hey Stan," Olive grins at the guy behind the counter, who nods a greeting at her, "this is my new friend Sheldon."

"Ah, Stan and I are well acquainted already," Sheldon says.

"Yes we are!" Stan stands up and reaches across to shake Sheldon's hand. "This guy's my best customer. Welcome back, buddy."

"Well, we were just looking for the new Flash," Olive says, looking around, "you got it in yet?"

"'Fraid not," Stan shakes his head ruefully, "mail strike. All my shipments are late this week." Sheldon visibly deflates. Olive can't blame him; she's disappointed herself. She wanders over to a box of old comic books and starts trawling through it while Stan and Sheldon converse about something or other. Sheldon seems like a nice enough guy. On the way over here she found out that he lives in the same trailer park as her. Just a few doors away, actually. If Olive believed in signs, she would think that was one. Sure, he's said a lot of stuff she doesn't understand, but he'll definitely be able to help her with that physics project. She is roused from her thoughts by an old Batman comic book. Could it be…? Yes, it is! It's the missing piece that she needs for her Robin collection!

"Stan!" She calls. "I'll take this." She drops the comic book on the counter and searches the pockets of her shorts for some money. She only comes out with a few coins. Nowhere near enough. She sighs. Starts to tell Stan to forget it, but Sheldon puts his hand over hers and drops a handful of coins into it.

"Sheldon, you don't have to."

"But I'm not buying any comic books. Just pay me back when you can." He looks totally sincere. He is pretty much a stranger, but the funny thing is, Olive feels at ease around him.

"Thank you," she says, meaningfully.

Sheldon watches her pay and wonders what has gotten into him. He doesn't really have _friends_, per say. He has acquaintances, colleagues, allies. Not friends. But Olive seems like a nice girl. Nothing like his obnoxious sister Missy. And maybe having a friend wouldn't be so bad…

As long as she didn't whistle.


	2. A deathtrap lit up like a Christmas tree

_Thank you eldas_25 for reviewing, and I wish I had a long and complex explanation for that, but all I can say is oops :) _

Chapter Two: A death trap lit up like a Christmas tree

Sheldon has never been in a girl's bedroom before.

Well, except from Missy's. And he hadn't been in there for very long. She'd found him and shoved him out pretty quick. She probably got the wrong idea when she saw him next to her second guinea pig, Snowball II. Especially after the first Snowball had died after that "unfortunate incident" with the radiation and the CAT scanner.

So it is weird, standing in Olive's bedroom, surrounded by textbooks, fiction books, and comic books, clothes, and general junk. Sheldon hates mess, hates clutter. The room he shares with his older brother is a carefully ordered affair, even if that dim-witted imbecile keeps messing it up. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to bear being in a room like Olive's, but hers seems to be…an ordered mess. Like everything has a place.

Olive emerges from the bathroom, her silky brown hair tied in plaits again. She is wearing a t-shirt with a bright floral pattern under a striped cardigan, and a pair of shorts. She has a small leather bag slung across her shoulder. She is smiling, ready to go.

"Ready?" She asks him.

He nods in a very dignified way, which makes her laugh. He's just so grown-up! She catches his hand in hers and drags him out of her family's trailer. Her mom is lying on a towel on the grass, reading a magazine. She smiles when she sees them.

"You kids have fun today. Where is it you're going?"

"The fairground, mom," Olive grins, "see you later."

"Don't be too late!" Mrs Morrison calls after her as she pulls Sheldon towards the road. Sheldon doesn't like being touched, and is very aware of Olive's small, pale hand gripping his, her nails digging into his long fingers.

"Where is this fairground?" He asks bitterly, still under the belief that this day out was forced upon him. He's not sure why, but he finds it difficult to say no to her face.

"Not far away. It's just ten minutes by bus-,"

"By _bus_?" He is utterly horrified. He doesn't ride the bus! There's no seatbelts! He starts to panic, hopping from foot to foot. "I can't ride the bus!"

"Why not?" Olive whirls to face him, her expression demanding.

"There's no seatbelts," he says, his voice becoming high and squeaky.

Ok, Olive thinks, maybe he isn't _that_ grown-up. But maybe that's a good thing.

"Please, Sheldon? I really want to go to the fairground!" She makes her eyes all big and pleading. She knows it won't have any effect on him, he's immune to this kind of thing, but he sighs and (grudgingly) agrees. When they do get on the bus though, he looks ready to bolt, like a frightened dear. They sit down and he twists this way and that, restless.

"This is so dangerous!" He hisses, clearly frightened.

"Sheldon, look at me," Olive says, and he does. She takes deep breaths, gesturing that he should copy. He takes a lungful of air, lets it out slow. Repeats. "Take my hand." She held out her hand for him. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He looks at her outstretched hand. It is, of course, absurd that she would be able to save him in the case of a crash. She would be hurled from the bus the same as him. But he swallows back his words, for her, because she wants to go to the fair. He takes her hand. She smiles at him. He starts to wonder, what is wrong with him? Putting his safety in jeopardy for a girl he barely knows? That he met _yesterday_? But he likes to see her smile.

"Just close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by." Olive says it light-heartedly, but Sheldon isn't sure she's joking.

* * *

"Well this place is just a death trap lit up like a Christmas tree."

Olive shakes her head bemusedly and drags Sheldon towards the Ferris wheel. He's going to have _fun_ today; she's going to make sure of it. Before they can reach the steadily turning wheel, though, a Blur's _There's No Other Way_ starts up over the crackly speaker system, stopping Olive in her tracks. She whirls to face Sheldon, her smile lighting up her face.

"I love this song!" She says excitedly, grabbing his other had. "Dance with me, Sheldon!"

"I don't dance."

"Please?"

Sheldon stares at her, amazed at what he is considering doing. He does not dance. Ever. No, that's not right. He would never dance with anyone. Except her.

"Alright." He gives a curt nod. Olive giggles, starts singing along loudly, attracting stares from all around. But she doesn't care. She lets Sheldon spin her around, and starts teaching him a crazy, simple little dance that she learned from a friend. Sheldon finds that, oddly, he doesn't care about the staring either. It's…worth it, to hear her laugh, to hear her sing. This is the _strangest_ feeling.

All around, people are starting to smile at the uncoordinated boy and the exuberant girl, wondering, and then, all of a sudden, Sheldon and Olive are surrounded by people, all doing their weird little dance and loving every minute of it. Olive isn't sure, but she thinks, above the noise of the crowd, that she heard Sheldon laugh. And it's a cute laugh, little more than him sucking air in, but it's certainly unique. Just like him.

The song finishes. The crowd disperses. Olive and Sheldon get on the ferris wheel. He shakes throughout the whole ride.

"Ok, no more rides," Olive decides cheerfully. Nothing can dampen her spirits after the spontaneous singing and dancing. "Ooh, Sheldon! Look!" She's pointing at a stall. It's a throw-the-ball-knock-over-the-cans-win-a-giant-teddy-bear affair. The guy running the stall looks decidedly shifty, but Sheldon discovered he had a reasonably good throwing arm two years ago, when he had thrown his precious research clean over a river to stop the pursuing bullies from destroying it. (It had taken him _forever _to find all his notes again). Olive is looking at him pleadingly. He rolls his eyes, approaches the stall. He knows this is a scam, but he buys three shots for a dollar. The three baseballs the guy hands him seem alright, not weighted, not light. He throws the first, topples only one can. The guy rights it, and he tries again. This time he knocks all three over. The guy looks a little surprised, but smoothes his expression quickly.

"If you knock over all three one more time, you win the bear."

Sheldon throws the last ball.

__________________

The giant bear takes up a whole seat on the bus. The driver makes them pay a fare for it. Olive pays, since it's her bear ("We could share custody, Sheldon." "I told you already, bears are terrifying!") and since she still owes Sheldon money for the comic book. The bear sits in front of them, and Sheldon finds himself once again clutching Olive's hand, and wondering why it makes him feel so at ease.


	3. Missy In Wonderland

Chapter Three: Missy in Wonderland

Missy Cooper nearly has a seizure when she sees her twin brother waling back towards the trailer with a girl and a giant teddy bear.

This is surprising for a number of reasons. Number one, Sheldon doesn't have friends, especially not _girl_friends. Number Two, he is terrified of bears. Missy feels a cold, gloopy wetness spread across her foot and, looking down, sees that she has dropped her nail polish.

"Damn!" She reaches down and scoops up the nail polish. She's going to have to clean the carpet. She'll be lucky if it wasn't permanently stained with gaudy pink. Maybe she can just move her desk slightly to cover it. But no, that would be too noticeable. Could she-

"Mom! I'm home!" The door bangs, which means Shelly is home. The nail polish floor disaster can wait.

"_Shel_ly!" Missy sang, skipping to the door of her bedroom. "Come in here for a second, will you?"

Sheldon enters, looking suspicious, and rightly so. He notices the pink stain on the carpet, takes in the mess of magazines and clothes with a horrified expression.

"What do you want, Missy?" He sighs.

"Was that _Olive Morrison_ I just saw you with?"

Sheldon nods.

"What?" Missy splutters, having not believed her own eyes until Sheldon confirmed the situation. "But she's…normal! Ok, there's the comic book thing but…but still!"

"I don't understand your surprise," Sheldon's brow furrows, "Olive is my new friend. We were at the fairground."

"_You_ went to the fairground? You always say that place is a tinsel-y death trap."

"Yes. We took the bus."

"You took the bus?" Missy is fairly sure her eyes have just popped out of her head.

"This conversation is circling. Excuse me. I'm going to occupy my vast mind with more important things." He strides purposefully out of the room. Missy can't even yell at him. This girl has done something to her brother, she must have! Drugged him or got him drunk or something. How else would she have got him on a bus? To the fairground? Unless…Shelly had just discovered…love?

No. That was far too bizarre. Too through-the-looking-glass. Well Missy wasn't as dumb as that Alice.

* * *

Olive named the bear Shelly.

It sat in the corner of her bedroom, watching, while she recorded in her diary the events of the day. The fat, battered notebook had _Olive's Log_ written on the front in glitter marker, her personal homage to the _Captain's Log_ of star trek. She writes affectionately of Sheldon. Wonders if he feels like she does. He doesn't seem so good with relationships though.

She has a thing for smart guys. Always has. But they tend to turn out to be idiots in the end. Olive doesn't think Sheldon is like that. She thinks he's sweet, kind, cute, perfect. A little peculiar, granted, a little crazy too (the no seatbelt thing on the bus? What's that about?) but she knows she likes him. She finishes off her log entry with one sentence.

_Sheldon is an enigma, a puzzle. I think I will have fun working him out._

* * *

Sheldon takes Olive to a little café on the other side of town the next afternoon for lunch. Sheldon must come in here a lot, because he knows all the waitresses by name. Olive can see he gets on their nerves, but she isn't sure why until she hears his exacting order (who orders a cheeseburger with the cheese on the side?) but it's just another of his idiosyncrasies that she finds cute. She decides to have a barbeque burger and fries; a meal which she believes is a timeless classic.

Sheldon watches her eat with a quiet fascination. He's spent his life surrounded by people so stupid that they are dull and make him sad, and people as smart or slightly less smart than himself. Olive is…another species. She's fun, quirky, bright, and…she accepts him. He doesn't understand. He has never cared about being "accepted" before. He just is who he is and has never felt the need to apologise for it, even though he knows he irritates others sometimes. He's found it hard to care about that, though. And Olive is…pretty. He's stunned himself again. He's never really thought about the way girls look before. He eats another bite of the cheeseburger which he has assembled himself. Well, why do things by halves? She's not pretty. She's beautiful. She's perfect. She understands him.

"So, what's your family like?"

Sheldon is taken aback by the question. It's a vague kind of question to ask, but he does his best.

"Kind, but they don't understand," Sheldon shakes his head, "my siblings are, as mom puts it, dumb as soup. And my dad just likes to push me at nature with a gun and yell _shoot_."

"He's pushing you to be something you're not?"

"Exactly."

"I've been there, Shelly."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom and dad are pushing me to go be a doctor. But I can't."

"Why not? Being a doctor is a well respected profession. And while you'll be making no scientific contribution to the world, I'm given to understand that saving lives is rewarding."

"I'm…" she mutters something inaudible.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm scared of blood, Sheldon!" She looks ready to burst into tears. At a loss, Sheldon takes her hand before he knows what he is doing. He holds her petite fingers in his, squeezes, tries to let her know that he understands.

"Yes, I understand, I spent my childhood in and out of hospitals."

"Oh my gosh, why?" As she asks, Sheldon thinks he sees a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes. But he must be imagining things.

"No. Various accidents relating to my rather unrealistic experiments."

Did her face just fall, just a little?

Olive insists on paying for their meal. And then she tries to pay Sheldon back for the comic book, but he waves the money away, telling her that they're even. He bought the comic book, she bought the food. Call it quits.

The walk out into the sunny afternoon air. Take a detour through the park on the way home. Under a tall willow tree, Olive pulls Sheldon round to face her.

"Kiss me, Sheldon."

"What?" He blinks at her, shocked.

"Kiss me."

He doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't know _why_, but he kisses her. He feels strange. He doesn't understand human relationships. It is the first time in his life when he cannot use his arsenal of knowledge. It is terrifying.

But. It is exciting too.

From across the park, Missy sees her twin brother and that girl from their trailer park together. Subconsciously, she looks around for the Cheshire cat.


	4. Shellybear

Chapter Four: Shellybear

Sheldon insists that he just _has_ to do some work after spending a lot of his time with Olive recently, and Olive insists that she just _has_ to be around him, because she can't stand going home (to the shouting, the crying, the screaming). So she is lying on his carefully made single bed, working her way through his comic book collection while he sits at his desk with three billion books open in front of him, making some complex notes that she doesn't understand.

Sheldon hates being distracted. The sound of her breathing, the rustle of comic book pages every once in a while, that's not distracting. _She_ is. He's not sure why. Maybe it's because with her so close to him while he works he can't stop thinking about her, can't disappear into his work as fully as he'd like to. But…she's distracting in a good way. And he's not annoyed with her.

Missy barges into the bedroom, brandishing her broken hairdryer like a gun.

"Shelly! I need you to-," she notices Olive sprawled across the bed, her nose buried in a comic book, "_hel_lo."

"Uh, hi," Olive says, a little surprised at the evil grin Sheldon's sister is giving her, "I'm Olive."

"Missy. Shelly's twin sister."

"Yeah, you guys don't look anything alike."

"I am eternally thankful," Missy giggles, "Shelly, fix my hairdryer!"

Sheldon doesn't turn around, continues scribbling in his notebook.

"What, can't you do it?"

"Missy, I built a death ray. I built a nuclear reactor. I built that killing robot-,"

"_Killing robot_?"

"I didn't say that," Sheldon says quickly, "regardless, if I did all that, don't you think a hairdryer should be relatively easy for me to repair?"

"Yeah," Missy agrees, "but will you?"

"I can't," Sheldon says, no regret in his voice, "mom confiscated my tools after the…slight explosion."

"Oh my gosh! Was that the one that _obliterated_ our shed?"

Sheldon stays quiet. Olive represses the urge to laugh.

Missy casts one more knowing look over the pair and flounces out.

Olive returns to the comic book but the absence of the scratching of Sheldon's pen against paper makes her look up. He is just sitting there, staring at her.

"Shellybear, what's wrong?"

"_Shellybear_?"

"Yes. That's my new nickname for you."

Normally, he wouldn't have tolerated it. But for her, he realised, he would.

"Alright." He opens a drawer, takes out a paper bag. "I saw this in a store in town and thought of you. It's not of any great value, but…" He passes her the paper bag. She opens it, draws out a long silver chain. Hanging on the end, in a teardrop shape, is a small Emerald-coloured stone. She closes her pale fist around her.

"It's beautiful," she says fiercely, "will you put it on for me?"

They both stand. She turns her back and sweeps her hair over one shoulder, passing the necklace to him. As he fastens the clasp he can't help thinking how elegant her neck is, how long, how slender…

* * *

Olive takes Sheldon ice skating that night, which, in hindsight, she supposes was a mistake on her part.

She rents skates. After a minor fuss from Sheldon ("but it's not hygienic!") they get on the ice. She loves to skate; it makes her feel like she's flying. After a cautious first circuit where she clings to the edge for dear life, she begins to break away. She circles the centre of the ice a few times, and then returns to Sheldon, who is still standing where she left him, shivering in his layered tee.

"Come on Sheldon," she whines, "take my hand. Skate with me."

Sheldon wobbles forward on the ice a little, falls over. She giggles and helps him back up. Before he knows what she is doing, she pulls him out, away from the edge, into the centre of the ice. He lets out a small shriek as his feet move across the slippery surface ("If men were meant to walk on ice, evolution would have gifted us with the necessary tools and coordination") but she just laughs and pulls him further.  
"See?" She grinds to a halt in the very centre of the circle of ice. "It's not that bad." People whistle past them – speed skaters. Even families with young children can move faster than Sheldon.

"You might be right," Sheldon shrugged, gliding experimentally, "I can do this."

Promptly, he crashes into a small girl and falls on top of her.

Olive almost falls over herself from the laughter. The girl bursts into tears as Sheldon tries, and fails, to get off her, ending up falling onto her again. Her mom rushes over, skidding around on the ice. She pulls the gangly adolescent boy up, scoops up her daughter, and skates away, muttering angrily. Sheldon reddens. Glares at Olive.

"_That_ was not my fault!"

"Fine, it wasn't your fault. Now help me get to the edge."

Olive thinks for a moment. Decides that, yes, that probably would be the best course of action. At least it'll stop him from falling on top of any other innocent skaters. Possibly breaking a limb. She takes his hand and tows him back across the ice to the barrier, which he grabs as though it is an old friend.

"Can we leave now?"

Olive smiles. He is an uncoordinated, scary smart freak.

"Of course, Shellybear."

But he is her uncoordinated, scary smart freak.


	5. A Water War

_I haven't updated in a few days, but I've had some MAJOR computer issues. Had to set up my computer all over again. Lost all of my software, apart from the stuff it came with. But, through some miracle that I will be entirely grateful for, my files were all safe._

_Thank you everyone who reviewed my previous chapters! It was greatly appreciated._

Chapter Five – A Water War

Olive splashes her face with cool, refreshing water, washing away the soap, leaving her squeaky clean. She lets her hair down so that it is loose and bouncy around her shoulders. Padding into her room, she peeks behind the curtain to check the weather conditions. It is bright as ever, but smirring ever so slightly. She decides on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (again) but puts an umbrella in her bag, just in case. She eyes the old water gun she dug out from her wardrobe the night before. Yeah, she knows what she's doing today, and Sheldon is coming with her, like it or not.

She can smell her mother's delicious French toast, follows the scent to the kitchen. Alice Morrison stands at the toaster with her back to her daughter.

"Where's dad?" Olive asks, sitting down.

"Out," Alice says, and Olive knows she shouldn't ask any more. She plays with the tablecloth while her mom gets plates and butter for their toast. She glances up and is horrified to see fresh bruising on her mother's face, but she says nothing. Because the world is still spinning.

* * *

It wasn't a water _fight_. It was a water _war_.

It had started out with just Olive and Sheldon, both carrying buckets of water and their trusty water guns. Some kids and teenagers must have seen them, found their own water guns and followed, because after Olive and her Shellybear have been in the fields in the outskirts of town for only ten minutes, twenty or so boys and girls have amassed.

The group splits into two sides almost automatically, girls and boys. Sheldon appoints himself "general" of the boys side ("it's _my_ game!") while Olive awards herself the slightly more indulgent title of "warrior princess".

The two leaders meet in the centre of the field of battle to discuss their terms.

"Anything goes."

Sheldon casts his eyes across her, tries to forget that she is the first girl he has felt…_this way_ about, the first girl he has ever kissed. But it is impossible.

"Alright. But _only_ water, no biting, kicking, pushing or physical contact of any kind."

"I'm gonna have to warn you, General Shellybear, that Warrior Princess Olive has serious skills with a water gun."

They set a time to commence, then the two shake hands, march back to their respective sides to discuss tactics. Sheldon crouches down, takes a stick from the ground and begins to draw a rough map of the surrounding area.

"The girls are here, led by their Warrior Princess, Olive," Sheldon tries not to let his voice waiver upon saying her name as he draws an X in the mud to mark the girls' position, "we are here. I say we split into three groups. The first group will loop behind them, the second group will come from the south, and the third group will charge straight at them. This will all work in the tried-and-tested pincer movement, of course." Sheldon's diagram is becoming complicated as he draws numerous arrows. "The first group...that's you, you, you…" he chooses boys at random, trying to get a good mix of ages and sizes. "I will lead the third group – the full on charge." He assigns more people to groups, chooses the best for his group. "We begin at eleven o' clock…two minutes."

Across the field, Olive's girls are huddled in a tight knot, listening to their leader's tactical strategies. He would love to hear her talk war…what the hell is _wrong_ with him? He may…like her…but the battle comes second to none.

"3…2…1" the boy beside Sheldon counts down.

"Go, go, go!" Sheldon hollered. Two thirds of the boys sprinted away into the trees and bushes. But the girls were on the ball too, also splitting into three equal groups. But the first group started making off directly behind where they had started. What?

"Hold…hold," Sheldon commands, keeping his own group where they are, "let them come to us." The girls charge towards them, Olive holding her water gun aloft like a sword. "Go!"

The boys run.

_The two sides clash. It is a spectacular battle._

Olive sprays Sheldon first with a shock of ice cold water that makes him falter for a moment. In that moment, she has pounced on top of him and sits astride him. All he can see is the nozzle of her water gun. All he can hear is the sound of her giggling. While his impromptu army falls around him, all he can think is, _what a nice sound_.

_But General Sheldon never stood a chance. Olive has anticipated his every move._

Sheldon's first group expected it to be a clean sweep. Come up behind some unsuspecting girls, spray them until they surrendered. What they really came across was five or six girls concealed in trees and bushes, waiting to ambush them. It was a humiliating defeat. The girls drove the boys out of the forest into the field as their captives.

"Do you admit defeat, General Sheldon?" Olive lets her captive friend off the ground. He stands up, brushes the grass of his clothes, and sees his entire "army" being held captive by a group of badly armed and, it had to be said, weaker girls.

Sheldon sighs.

"I do."

The girls cheer; soak the boys one more time. Olive laughs, and Sheldon, despite himself, laughs too. Olive sweeps him into a kiss which both shocks and pleases him.


	6. Something she already knew

_This is a short chapter, because I feel like I haven't been able to explore Olive properly yet. So Olive is the focus of this chapter. And I have now thought up an ending which will leave the door open for a sequel, but the end isn't coming any time soon because I don't think I'm ready to give up Olive and Shelly just yet! _

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It was great to hear what you think._

Chapter Six: Something she already knew

Olive glances at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Gently dusts blue eyeshadow onto her eyelids (it makes her green eyes pop), paints her lips delicate pink, expertly applies black mascara. She ties her hair into her trademark plaits and returns to her bedroom. It is a miserable day today, especially after the glorious warmth yesterday. The sun is straining to shine, but the sky is full of dark clouds and rain batters the trailers. Olive pulls on a pair of jeans, a plain white tee, and a navy blue hoodie. Slips her feet into her favourite black converse. Considers visiting Sheldon.

But is she being too pushy? Too clingy? They are always together. Does he mind? After all, he has all that complicated work to do…

Shelly the teddy bear catches her eye and she knew he felt the same way about her that she did about him. Even if he didn't know it yet.

"Mom! I'm going out!"

There is no answer. Weird. Alice must have heard her. After all, they live in a trailer. It's not as if she's too far away. She stands up and wanders out into the kitchen. Alice sits at the table, clutching a mug of tea. She is staring straight into the liquid, but not seeing it. Her eyes are glazed over. There is a fresh cut on her cheek.

"Mom!" Olive gasps, kneeling down beside Alice and hugging her tightly. A tear escapes Alice's eye before she can squeeze them shut.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Alice whispers. She hates putting all of this on her daughter. But what can she do? Olive isn't blind, and she may not be as smart as that Cooper boy, but she ain't dumb either. And this used to happen to her too.

Olive looks at the tea her mother is holding, touches the mug. It's ice cold.

"Let me make you another one," she says gently, easing the mug out of her mother's iron grip. She washes the mug out, refills the kettle and plugs it in. She looks out teabags, and tries not to think too much.

"Here you go," she places a fresh mug of tea in front of Alice, who makes no motion to drink it, "are you going to be ok, mama?"

Her mother blinks in surprise and confusion at the name Olive had stopped calling her when she was five.

"Yeah, honey." Alice takes a deep breath. "I'm gonna be fine."

"Is it alright if I go out, or do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, honey. You go. Have fun. Forget all this."

* * *

Olive slips into the rain gratefully. She feels bad for leaving her mom like this, but she just can't deal with it anymore. Seeing her like that. Having to think about all of this. Her life.

Sometimes she can find a little bit of happiness. Reading a good book. Basking in the sunshine. Seeing a good movie. She had thought these things brought happiness. But, she realises, she has never known true happiness until she met Sheldon.

She stops. Rain lashes onto her head, her favourite black converse are getting muddy, and she is cold. But she is so stunned by her revelation that she cannot take another step.

Is she in love?

Well, how is she supposed to know? She has never been in love before. She doesn't know what it was supposed to feel like. She can't ask her mother; that just made her sad. On bad days, it made her cry. And she has no other point of reference. No role model to turn to. Up until this point, she has simply assumed love does not exist. That it is some fantasy dreamed up by idealistic women. A myth. Or, perhaps, some cruel joke to torment young, impressionable girls.

But. This feels real.

Rain water starts to slide down her back and she shivers violently. She hops up onto the little covered porch just outside Sheldon's door. She's not ready to knock just yet. Her hand goes automatically to the emerald necklace at her throat as she thinks of him. Sweet and strange. And perfect.

"Olive? What are you doing out here?"

The minute she hears his voice, she knows. She turns, sees his brows furrowed into cute confusion, and is reassured.

"Just working out something I already knew."


	7. Teaching the Genius Boy

**Disclaimer: I do not own the big bang theory, or any of the characters, except Olive. **

_Dear my lovely readers, I have decided that I will be writing a sequel to this story, set in the present day (thank you to AraneLalaith for suggesting it as a possibility – I was kicking the idea around but wasn't sure) but this particular story won't be ending for a while, hopefully. I've grown so attached! So this is just a great big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, if I didn't reply to your reviews personally. _

_Just a note: that monkey-bridge thing? I actually saw it happen once. In the world of emoticons, I was colon capital D. _

Chapter Seven. Teaching the Genius Boy

It is free admissions day at the zoo, and Sheldon is strangely aware of the brown-haired girl by his side as they wait in line for entry. It's a sunny day today, a proper, _summer_ day. It even has that summer smell – fresh cut grass and heat.

"Two, please," Olive says pleasantly to the middle-aged woman in the booth, who looks like she long ago lost her passion for the job. She slides two guides across the counter and waves them through. The minute they step onto the sun-bleached stones of the main path, Olive unfurls her guide and stares at the map, which is a colourful affair, each of the animal enclosures marked with a corresponding cartoon. Sheldon shakes his head, noticing the flaws of the map in scale and markings, but Olive is pointing and talking to him. He shakes his head, ignores the map, and listens.

"But if we go this way, we can see the gorillas first and work our way round here." She traces a path on the map with her finger and Sheldon watches, appalled, as she points out a path that completely misses out the bird enclosures.

"What about the birds?"

"I don't like birds. They're scary. Most people don't see it." Olive shrugs, starting to drag him towards one of the paths. Sheldon just shrugs and lets her. Maybe birds are a little scary…

They stop for ice cream at a stall, and Sheldon buys Olive a balloon later on, a red one, that matches her red t-shirt and red-rimmed sunglasses and red flip-flops ("what? I like red"). She is delighted with the gorillas, stares at them wide-eyed for ten full minutes like an excited child, and the giraffes. She is passive about the zebras, who look underfed to Sheldon, and unhappy in their less-than-state-of-the-art enclosure. But it is the monkeys that really excite Olive, swinging and jumping and playing.

"They're just so lively," she explains after they have stood, watching them, for a long time, "nothing can slow them down." They are about to walk away from the enclosure, when Sheldon spots something. He catches Olive's arm and points upward. She follows his gaze.

There are two parallel ropes up fairly high. A group of monkeys, three adults and a baby, are approaching the gap. The adults clear it easily, but the baby hesitates, staying on the first rope. Olive gasps in pity, but the baby's mother comes trotting back to it and makes a bridge out of her own body, holding onto the first rope with her little monkey hands and the second rope with her useful monkey feet. The baby skips across its mother and onto the second rope.

"Aww!" Olive gasps. "That was the sweetest thing _ever_!"

"You cannot say that with absolute certainty," Sheldon scoffed as they began to walk towards the exit, "you have not witnessed all of the so-called "sweet" events which have happened in the history of life itself."

"I love you, Sheldon," she laughed, and then froze. So did he. She had never said that to him before. No one had said that to him before. Except his mom. So...what is he supposed to do now? Olive is staring at him, as if waiting for him to say something in response. He strains to remember all those "romantic" movies Missy forced him to watch with her. In this kind of situation, when a character says "I love you," the other character says "I love you too." But does Sheldon really love Olive? He doesn't know what love is.

But he figures this has to be pretty close.

"I love you too."

The smile on her face makes something in Sheldon light up. For the first time, he is the one kissing her, not the other way around. And it's new and different and...exciting. He has never loved a girl before. Had never even been on a date before Olive. He doesn't have many friends, no, scratch that, he doesn't have _any_ friends. But he's always got along fine without them. Is this what it means to be close to someone? Sheldon has never understood that before...

He always thought he was smart, but Olive is teaching him so much.

On the way home, Olive drags Sheldon into a little restaurant. It's an Italian place, or supposed to be, that seems perfectly pleasant. The tables are covered in red and white checked plastic tablecloths, and the seats have adorable little matching cushions on them. Olive has been coming here for years. She knows how much Sheldon hates eating in new places, but she is living proof that there are no nasty diseases lurking in the kitchen. And she tells him so.

They sit at a table and, after scrutinising the menu for twenty minutes (during which time Olive's stomach begins to rumble angrily, like a volatile volcano), Sheldon finally decides on a cheese and tomato pizza, no cheese and tomatoes on the side. The waiter looks faintly confused (who wouldn't be? How can you make a pizza with tomatoes on the side?) but writes down his order. Olive orders spaghetti bolognaise, and the waiter looks exceedingly relieved at the normality of her order before he retreats from the table.

"Shellybear, can I ask you a personal question?"

"You've never asked permission before, and I've never objected."

Olive translates that from Sheldonese into English as _yes, go ahead_.

"You know all that physics stuff you did? Well, before me you never seemed to take a break from it. So what I'm asking is, did it make you happy?"

Sheldon thinks about it.

"I suppose, in a way, it did. I did not tend to think about it. Emotions have always eluded me. But it's different from the happiness I feel when we're doing things together – going to the comic book store, the fairground, the zoo..." He trails off, realizing the gravity of what he's just said. And it's the first time. As he said, human emotions have always eluded him. Why are they suddenly so clear? "I'm obviously far more intelligent than you," (Olive takes no offence in this – it's true, after all) "but you're teaching me a lot. If you went away, I don't know how much of it I would remember."

"I'm never going away, Shelly," she says fiercely, "never ever. Not by choice, anyway."

Then their order arrives and Olive seems to forget their conversation, but Sheldon's mind is still reeling. He has realised that what he has said is remarkably truthful. Yes, he has never been one to lie, but this...this makes his head ache, in a way learning a new fact has never done before.

He loves Olive.

With that thought, his stomach does a back flip and he breaks out in an inexplicable smile.


	8. Eureka

**Disclaimer: I do not own the big bang theory, or any of the characters except Olive and Stan.**

_A/N: Just a short chapter. I think the next chapter will be the last. While I am attached to this story, I already have several ideas for the sequel. _

Chapter Eight: Eureka

Sheldon has gone back to work, and Olive (who insists that _she_ has nothing better to do with her time) has started where she left off working her way through Sheldon's comic book collection. She has only just broken into the _Spiderman _section when she hears Sheldon's sharp intake of breath.

"What is it?"

"Look! I've done it! I've done it! Eureka!"

Olive laughs as Sheldon shoves his notebook in her face, partly because he's so excited, and partly because he actually said "eureka". She takes the notebook and stares at it, but all she sees is complex scribbles and calculations. Sheldon launches into an in-depth explanation, but she can't understand a word of it, except "electron", which seems to come up a lot.

"Simplify, please," she says, smiling brightly. Sheldon often forgets that his girlfriend's knowledge of physics is sadly lacking (is he using that word correctly? Girlfriend?).

"I've made a discovery."

"Well done, Shellybear," she says sincerely, kissing him, "did you change man's understanding of the universe?"

"Not _yet_."

And there's another reason why she loves him. His unquestioning belief in himself. His unflinching optimism.

"So are you done with your work?"

"For today," he shrugs.

"Good. Let's go for a walk."

"Why?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic.

"Because it's a nice day." She's not taking no for an answer. She takes his hand and drags him from the trailer.

They walk through town, pass by the comic book store, the cafe, the entrance to the zoo, pass all the places they went together. Each moment is engraved into Sheldon's memory as firmly as the laws of physics. He remembers everything with such clarity, and such fondness. They way she ate those times they had dinner. How she always had a smile for him, even when her eyes were tired. How she kissed him the first time, and how her lips against his had shocked him. In a good way.

They pass a photo booth and Olive drags him into it. It's a crush, but somehow they both manage to fit. He stares solemnly at the camera for the first few shots, but then Olive convinces him to smile. In the last shot, they are both pulling goofy faces. They get two copies of the set of photographs, and then move on their way.

They seem to gravitate subconsciously towards the park, where they first met. And they settle on the roundabout, together, a million miles from that first time, when Sheldon had wondered if she was a serial killer. He stares at her, and he suddenly understands. He'll never be happy without her. He's never letting her go.

She takes his hand, and, without a word, guides it so that he's touching the place where her heart beats. It's fluttering, he realises, the rate accelerated.

"That's what you do to me, Shellybear." She whispers.

And he knows that she doesn't mean "you put me in danger of a heart attack". He takes her hand and lays it on his chest, over his own heart. She feels the hammering and her face flushes with delight.

"I didn't know it was normal."

"It's not. It's special. In a good way."

* * *

On the way home, as they pass the comic book store, Sheldon remembers.

"The new Flash!"

"I completely forgot," Olive's eyes go big and round, "how could I forget?"

In an instant, they are inside the shop and quizzing Stan on the status of his shipments.

"I laid a couple of copies aside for my favourite customers," he grins, taking out two identical copies from beneath the counter, "although I had almost given up hope. I haven't seen you around for a while."

"We've been a little...preoccupied." Olive blushes faintly. Stan notices their clasped hands, and he smiles, his eyes filling with understanding.

"Aha. Well, you kids have fun. Anyways, this comes to three dollars."

Sheldon pays, and this time Olive doesn't feel guilty. Just a little giddy. She slips the new comic books into her messenger bag and holds out her hand for Sheldon to take.

"Homeward, my fair Sheldon?"

"Indeed."

They walk back to the trailer park together, but when they arrive Olive realises she doesn't want to go home. She and Sheldon play Nintendo 64 ("I won!" "No, I won!") until he feels his old _game-a-thon of '93 _injury acting up.

"You should get a record player in here, Shelly," she tells him, looking around.

"I have no time for music. And I have no records. So I fail to see why I should get a record player."

"Because then I could teach you about something, and feel smarter than you. Just once."

"In many ways, Olive, you are smarter than me."

"I love you, Sheldon," she says, her eyes lighting up. Sheldon feels his stomach twist with pleasure, because he made her smile like that.

"I love you too, Olive."

But as he kisses her, he can't help feeling that it seems like a goodbye.


	9. Until We Meet Again

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory, or any of the characters, except Olive. **

_A/N: Yes. Last chapter. XXX will signify a break this chapter, as I have a feeling there will be a few of them._

Chapter nine: Until We Meet Again

It takes a great effort for Sheldon to fall asleep that night. He just has...a feeling that something was wrong. He is a believer in logic, in facts, and he does not trust _feelings_; so why is he so tense and nervous?

There is a thunderstorm that night too.

XXX

When Olive gets home, her mother is sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for her.

"Mom, is everything ok?" She asks, worried.

"We're getting out," Alice says seriously, "tonight. Pack a bag. Take only what you can carry. And please, Olive, be quick."

She knows she can't protest. It's not fair to her mother, to trap her in this hell. She moves swiftly to a room and retrieves her high school backpack from the bottom of her wardrobe. She surveys her possessions. How does she pack her whole life into this one bag?

Outside, the thunder rumbles menacingly.

She sits down at her desk, opens her log, and starts to write.

XXX

Sheldon tosses and turns. He's having a nightmare in which he is sitting alone on a wide beach. It is too hot, but the ocean is lapping at his toes and keeping him cool. It goes out, it comes in, it goes out, it comes in, it goes out. And this time it stays out. It keeps receding, until it is so far away that he cannot see it.

Now the sun gets hotter, and he has nothing to cool him down.

XXX

Olive has tears in her eyes as she sticks down the last piece of tape and scribbles Sheldon's name onto the brown parcel paper. Fingers the "emerald" necklace at her throat.

She starts shoving clothes into the bag, anything that comes to hand. She doesn't bother to fold. She doesn't care what she's putting in. She slips in a few of her more valuable comic books. Socks. Underwear. A spare pair of converse. Her makeup bag with her toothbrush and some toothpaste. Finally, she carefully places the photo booth picture of herself and her Shellybear.

She sits on her bed and cries.

XXX

Sheldon awakens, bathed in sweat, to the squealing of a car engine, racing into the night.

With an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, he drifts back into uneasy sleep.

XXX

When morning dawns, and Sheldon wakes up, Missy is sitting at the foot of his bed with a steaming mug of tea. There is a huge, hastily wrapped package at her feet.

"I brought you tea, Shelly."

"You have never brought me tea in bed before Missy. I suspect this is a preface for some kind of important discussion."

Her eyes fill with...is it pity? Sheldon isn't sure.

"This was at the front door, Shelly." She picks up the package and, standing up, sets it down. "And...mom heard from some neighbours that Olive and her mother left late last night. With a lot of their stuff. And they haven't come back. I'll leave you alone to open that."

She glances once more at the package on her brother's bed, and retreats from the room. She shuts herself up in her own bedroom, where she bursts into tears for him. That girl made him _happy. _Would that ever happen for him again?

Cold fear has seized Sheldon's heart. He sets down the scalding tea, rips into the package.

Inside is a selection of items that, to anyone else, would just look like a random assortment of objects with no connection to one another. But Sheldon isn't anyone else.

His fingers slide across the fluffy head of Shellybear, the shiny cover of a Blur LP called _Leisure_, ticket stubs from the zoo and the fairground, _Day of the Triffids_ by John Wyndham...and a fat, battered notebook with "Olive's Log" written on the cover in purple glitter marker. He flicks through the pages, dazed, looking for some explanation. On the second to last page the words "dear Sheldon" jump out at him.

_Dear Sheldon,_

_I have to leave. I have no choice, and I need to explain. _

_My dad hits my mom. He has done for a long time. He used to hit me, but then they started noticing at school and he stopped. But now my mom wants to run, and she won't leave me behind. So I have to go with her. Because she's my mom._

_I don't know where we're going. I want to visit you, but I know mom won't let me anywhere near this place. Not while he's still here. But I will come back and find you, Shellybear. Someday. _

_I won't ever forget you. I may be selfish, but I don't want you to forget me either. That's why I gave you this stuff – partly because I couldn't take it with me, and partly because I didn't want it forgotten, and, most importantly, because I want you to remember me. _

"_Day of the Triffids" is the book I was reading when we first met, the blur record has "There's No Other Way" on it – that will always be our song. So get a record player and play it, and try not to be too sad._

_I love you. You have made me so happy – happier than I have been in a long time. You are the only one I will ever love, and, until we meet again Shellybear, I'm going to miss you more than you can imagine._

_Love, forever,_

_Olive. XX_

Sheldon's hands were shaking as he turns to the next page. There, he finds a list.

_Nine Things Olive Morrison Never Told Sheldon Cooper, And Should Have_

_Sheldon is the only boy Olive has ever loved._

_Sheldon is the only boy Olive will ever love._

_Sheldon is the only boy Olive has ever kissed. _

_Olive listened to "There's No Other Way" at least once a day every day after they danced at the fairground._

_After she saw Sheldon's room, Olive tidied hers so that it would be more like his._

_Olive hugged Shellybear the teddy bear at least once a day every day after the real Shellybear won him for her._

_Olive wore the necklace Sheldon got her every day, and she will continue to wear it every day until they meet again. _

_Olive will never stop fighting to be with Sheldon, will never stop searching for him._

Sheldon's breath catches and he feels tears prick the back of his eyes. He is shaking all over.

Olive is gone.

He allows himself to cry for five minutes. Then he tidies himself, eats breakfast with his family in silence, and returns to his bedroom, where he applies himself fully to his work.

XXX

In the following months, Sheldon concentrates all his efforts on his work. Missy watches and is heartbroken for him.

He is scared of bears, yet that giant teddy has now taken up permanent residence in his bedroom. He doesn't like music, but he bought a small record player, although Missy has never heard him play a single song. Sometimes, when Missy goes into his bedroom, she finds him staring at a dog-eared notebook with "Olive's Log" written on the front in glitter marker.

Now he has banned her from entering his room.

Missy can only watch, and hope that maybe, someday, things will work out for him.

_I am colon opening bracket now, but I am comforted by the fact that Sheldon and Olive will be reunited in the sequel, which I am just about to start work on. Anyway, I just wanted to say a great big thank you to everyone who reviewed – without you I might have given up chapters ago. _


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